PBaholic
04-20-2016, 07:51 PM
I just started using Citric Acid and Distilled water to clean Brass in my Ultrasonic cleaner. Can anyone help with a few things?
1. How often do you change the cleaner? After a batch of 100 or so .38's, the cleaner went from perfectly clear to black. I put it in a clear bottle, and let it sit overnight, and the particles sank to the bottom. If I carefully pour it, I can keep the liquid fairly clear.
2. The pockets of the primers are not cleaning well. I have to keep running the cleaning cycle. If I do a really small batch, they seem to clean well in one cycle. This is a Harbor Freight Ultrasonic cleaner. Does a different Ultrasonic cleaner work better?
3. How long should I air dry before priming? I bounce the brass in a towel, and then put it under a fan for a half hour or so, then put it in my PC oven at 350 for 10 minutes, and then back under the fan. They appear dry, and I have no water clogging the primer hole, but do I still need to wait?
4. A few of the primer pockets have a cloudy appearance inside the pocket when it's dry. It almost looks like some of the cleaner was still left on when it dried, but I'm real careful when I rinse them. I soak them in water about 30 seconds while and repeatedly draining the soak water and replacing it a few times. Then they go in a strainer, and get another 30 seconds of water run over them, while I stir them by hand. Is there a better way?
5. Some of the brass turns pink. It seemed like it was worse when the cleaner got dirtier. I removed the pink ones, and soaked them in a little Tarnx, and they came clean, but what's going on here? Is my mix too strong, or is there something else I can add?
Keith
1. How often do you change the cleaner? After a batch of 100 or so .38's, the cleaner went from perfectly clear to black. I put it in a clear bottle, and let it sit overnight, and the particles sank to the bottom. If I carefully pour it, I can keep the liquid fairly clear.
2. The pockets of the primers are not cleaning well. I have to keep running the cleaning cycle. If I do a really small batch, they seem to clean well in one cycle. This is a Harbor Freight Ultrasonic cleaner. Does a different Ultrasonic cleaner work better?
3. How long should I air dry before priming? I bounce the brass in a towel, and then put it under a fan for a half hour or so, then put it in my PC oven at 350 for 10 minutes, and then back under the fan. They appear dry, and I have no water clogging the primer hole, but do I still need to wait?
4. A few of the primer pockets have a cloudy appearance inside the pocket when it's dry. It almost looks like some of the cleaner was still left on when it dried, but I'm real careful when I rinse them. I soak them in water about 30 seconds while and repeatedly draining the soak water and replacing it a few times. Then they go in a strainer, and get another 30 seconds of water run over them, while I stir them by hand. Is there a better way?
5. Some of the brass turns pink. It seemed like it was worse when the cleaner got dirtier. I removed the pink ones, and soaked them in a little Tarnx, and they came clean, but what's going on here? Is my mix too strong, or is there something else I can add?
Keith